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If you haven’t taken the mental_floss quiz on Soviet leaders yet (and want to), go do that before reading this post, because it contains spoilers. Neatoramanaut Stubb left a comment that blew my mind.
I’m pretty sure most russians don’t consider Malenkov part of the line of sovereign leaders, and that Khrushchev followed Stalin. It all has to do with the hair, you see. Ever since Catherine the Great took over for Peter the Great, the pattern has been:
Catherine I – Full-haired
Peter II – Bald (shaved for wig)
Anna I – Full-haired
Ivan IV – Bald (infant Emperor)
Elizabeth – Full-haired
Peter III – Bald (shaved for wig)
Catherine II – Full-haired
Paul I – Bald(ing)
Alexander I – Full-haired
Nicholas I – Bald
Alexander II – Full-haired
Alexander III – Bald
Nicholas II – Full-haired
Lenin – bald
Stalin – Full-haired
Khrushchev – Bald
Brezhnev – Full-haired
Andropov – Bald(ing)
Chernenko – Full-haired
Gorbachev – Bald
Yeltsin – Full-haired
Putin – Bald(ing)
Medvedev – Full-hairedThis also dictates that the next President should be bald, giving Putin an excellent opportunity to regain (formal) power. Especially since his main opponent, Mikhail Prokhorov has a head full of hair…
A quick check revealed this pattern is correct, explained at NPR in a 2008 post. However, Stubb’s list goes back much further into Tsarist Russia. Link
(Image credit: KoS)
A city in China banned the admission of bald visitors, citing that it’s easier for bald people to disguise themselves:
The rule imposed by the southern Chinese city of Xiamen barred bald people from applying for one-year multiple-entry permits, the type usually used by frequent business travellers.
Chinese authorities imposed the ban over fears that “it was easier for bald people to disguise themselves”, according to a report in the Taipei-based Liberty Times, which cited unnamed travel agents.
The city has since rescinded its ban and now allows the hairless to enter.
Link | Photo: ALAMY
Remember the bald bear we featured on Neatorama yesterday? Well here’s another case of unusual baldness – this time it’s a bald … hedgehog?
A bald hedgehog abandoned by his mother in a garden in Norfolk is being treated at a wildlife rescue centre in a bid to encourage his spikes to grow.
Baldrick, named after the character from the television programme Blackadder, was brought to Foxy Lodge wildlife rescue centre, Great Yarmouth.
He is now being cared for by Tonia and John Garner in the hope he can be eventually released into the wild. Treatment includes antiseptic scrubs and baby oil massages.
I’d suggest a laser comb to stimulate those spike follicles, but what do I know?: Link
